Fort Worth, Here We Come!

The whirlwind has begun! Friday I went and talked with Byron Green and the director of Marketing at Green Investment Management (www.gimlink.com) for 3 1/2 hours going over the details of the company and my new position as Director of Operations and co-Portfolio Manager. I am very excited about this incredible job! It is much better than I had anticipated. There will be a learning curve, so the first year will be challenging, but I welcome it with open arms. I LOVE downtown Ft. Worth! In fact, ever since April 1999, which was my last day of employment at Green Investment Management the first time around, whenever I see the downtown Ft. Worth skyline, I recall the sadness I felt as I was driving away, glancing at the skyline in my rearview mirror, thinking it would be the last time I had the fortune of working in downtown FW. And now I'm back! I love the hustle and bustle of downtown, but Fort WOrth is the perfect size. City atmosphere but not too big. It was always so refreshing and fun to walk around the streets and eat lunch at various restaurants. GIM is in a different office space now, but it is still in the heart of downtown, in the Oil and Gas building on West 7th street, just a few blocks off of Main. Previously, we were on the 8th floor, so the scenery was nice. Now, they are on the first floor, so the scenery is a little different. Instead of being able to see for miles, you feel more like you're "in" downtown, instead of looking "out" of downtown...so it's just a different perspective. The parking garage is valet, so I am looking forward to getting spoiled with that! In my office I will have a Wall Street Journal as well as a tv tuned in to MSNBC or CNBC to be constantly aware of the markets. I will wear a suit and tie to work everyday (I know you're cringing Jeff, Mr. soccer coach). Any way, as you can tell, I think I'm just as excited to be back in downtown Ft. Worth as I am about the job. I got a rejection letter from Barbnet Investment Company (Bass Brothers), and I found joy in laughing it off. I would like to call her and just ask what someone else was chosen for the position, just for contructive criticism...but deep down inside, I could really care less! HA!

We spent most of Saturday and part of Sunday morning looking at houses. We decided to look for houses instead of going to church, but visiting Christ Chapel is still a high priority. Tom and Reggie (our pastors from Grace Church) went to Dallas Theologocal Seminary with Dr. Ted Kitchens, the pastor of Christ Chapel Bible Church in downtown Ft. Worth, so we're excited at the possibility of finding a church with the same doctrinal beliefs as what we have found at Grace. As for houses, we looked at one in Haltom City and one somewhere else, but I think we've decided to buy a house in Saginaw. We looked at some older homes (10-15yrs old) and quite a few brand new homes. There's not really any difference in price though. So, we're weighing out the options. With a new house, you generally get a 5 year (plus or minus) warranty directly from the manufacturer, but it's unlikely that anything would break in the first several years anyway. However, it would be nice to have that warranty, as opposed to just a one year warranty from a third party company. With an older home comes the increased chance of something breaking...and possibly not being covered by the third party warranty. However, with an older home, you get taller trees that look nicer and provide more shade. Jenn is going back down there this week to look at more houses and then I'll go on Saturday to look at her favorites. Hopefully we can make a decision very quickly because there will be a transition period where I'll be commuting for a few weeks, leaving Jennifer and the girls for 4 nights per week. Dealing with the kids and the pregnancy by herself will be very taxing, so we'd like to minimize this period as much as possible.

We are all excited and Very thankful for the new job and every thing that will bring (now if I could just get a Jeep!). We're not saying bye yet because we still have a little time before we're down there permanently. However, you all are welcome to come anytime. In fact, we might have to setup a quota system, where there are a certain number of times you must visit each year!